"It's time to wake up, Bronya."
Though speechless at this strange dream, Jiang Qiao hadn't forgotten his purpose.
"Wait... You're...? Jiang Qiao?" Bronya, who had been immersed in the revelation that the leader who saved the great nation was her playmate, was surprised and bewildered by his words.
"Yes, it's me."
"Bronya... cough, cough, I knew you would come save us." She instinctively started with her verbal tic, but looking at Jiang Qiao, Miss Duck Duck seemed to remember something, coughing twice and correcting herself.
She muttered a complaint, "But where did you go...? Honestly, if you were here, Gray Serpent wouldn't have succeeded."
"Sorry, after Elysia's situation was resolved, I accompanied her to another world."
Miss Bronya puffed out her cheeks at this.
So, he went to accompany another girl... and even to another world? At this moment, Miss Duck Duck was clearly unhappy, or rather, envious and annoyed—as someone who loved games and had a strong interest in other worlds, she also wanted to go on such adventures!
The duck duck secretly resolved—she couldn't let him wander around like this anymore, impossible to find... At the very least, he had to take her along!
Without voicing her thoughts, she instinctively nodded, but then hesitated, remembering something.
"Um... Can Bronya stay a little longer?"
Jiang Qiao, sitting at his desk with a warm cup of tea, was taken aback. Then, seeing the longing in the girl's eyes, he instantly understood, chuckling softly.
"...I see. You've found something, or someone, to cherish, haven't you?"
"Of course, it's no problem. Although this dream is a bit strange, even a temporary beautiful dream is worth savoring."
"But since that's the case, let me take a good look at this dream too."
"You're staying too?" Bronya was surprised and inexplicably hopeful.
"Yes. After all... the me standing here came for you."
For the current Jiang Qiao, returning didn't hold much meaning.
After all, referencing a certain white-haired tuna's actions in another world, he had divided himself into countless parts.
And undoubtedly, this current part belonged solely to Bronya's dream.
Bronya blushed slightly—clearly, she misunderstood his words... well, perhaps it wasn't entirely a misunderstanding?
However, in Bronya's dream, a certain Mr. Jiang couldn't indulge in any entertainment.
At least, the duck duck, thoroughly infused with lofty ideals, even after realizing this was a dream, didn't suggest playing games—instead, maintaining her previous desire, she became his secretary.
Looking at the mountain of documents from all over the country, Mr. Jiang Qiao felt a bit numb.
He came to rescue people, how did he end up working overtime?
The worst part was, even though he was just processing documents, or handling the dream's affairs according to his habits, he always felt Bronya's gaze becoming increasingly strange...
Of course, the duck duck's dream was just the beginning for his myriad consciousnesses.
"Is this Kiana's dream?"
Within Kiana's dream, Jiang Qiao looked at the incredibly well-behaved, gentle white-haired girl before him with surprise.
Undoubtedly... this should be Kiana.
But what was with this virtuous wife and good mother vibe?
Although the white-haired tuna did change a bit after maturing, this change was a bit too drastic.
If he wasn't certain this was the real Kiana, Jiang Qiao would have thought he entered the wrong dream, that the tuna before him was just a manifestation of the dream itself.
"Jiang Qiao, Mei seems to be out. Let's play together."
...Mei seems to be out...
Huh?
What does playing together have to do with Mei being out, and... with Kiana's personality, shouldn't she want to play with Mei?
Filled with doubts, Jiang Qiao remained silent, curiously observing the dream's progression.
The next moment—the door was slowly locked, and the virtuous wife and good mother Miss Tuna slowly...
?
What's going on?!
Watching this increasingly precarious development, although Jiang Qiao was no stranger to this kind of prelude, he was still... stunned.
He knew the white-haired tuna seemed to have some 'grievances' towards him, and indeed had some impulsive 'behaviors,' after all, he had used her body too many times... But Kiana shouldn't be this carnivorous, right?
Wait...
This is a dream.
Oh, never mind then.
—Because it's a dream, it doesn't matter what we do~
For Kiana, this was precisely the current situation.
Honestly, unlike the useless Bronya, she was actually quite ambitious.
After realizing she was trapped, she constantly searched for flaws in the dream, seeking a chance to wake up.
But it was clearly pointless.
After all, this wasn't just the Herrscher of Sentience's power—or rather, even if it were, Kiana couldn't overcome it.
In the realm of consciousness, the Herrscher of Sentience was practically the king, except for a few anomalies.
Kiana winning against Senti in the original story was entirely because Senti messed up and wavered.
And the current dream paradise, woven from the power of multiple Herrschers, centered around Fallen Elysia, serving as the foundation for Project Stigma, was incredibly robust. Forget ordinary Herrschers, even Kevin couldn't break through.
Realizing this, although unwilling, Kiana could only choose a long-term strategy.
However, this long-term strategy... well, during the 'long-term,' certain changes occurred.
After all—this was, no matter how you looked at it, a 'paradise dream' that brought happiness.
Even if Kiana firmly refused to fall for it...
But...
"Kiana~"
The limited-time Cecilia Mama Combo, having won the resurrection match, instantly broke the white-haired tuna's defenses.
After all, what were Kiana's components?
Sirin!
And her birth was Sirin's desire, born from Cecilia's love.
Therefore, she had the least resistance to Cecilia's motherly love.
A happy family life...
Of course, that wasn't all.
Besides the Mama Combo, she also discovered another existence she longed for—Mei.
A wonderful family, and Mei, could anything be better in the world?
The answer was—add someone to confide in.
And undoubtedly, this person was a certain Mr. Jiang.
After a series of combo attacks, needless to say, the white-haired tuna was completely fermented.
Completely immersed in the dream, guided by Cecilia's main account boosting her smurf account, she transformed into a virtuous wife and good mother.
Starting a sweet, married duo queue.
—However.
"Why... am I Mei's husband?" Mr. Jiang Qiao, having grasped the general situation of this dream, looked at the white-haired tuna rubbing against him like a kitten, his expression subtle as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
Undoubtedly, this Japanese-style room—should belong to Raiden Mei.
And Jiang Qiao also knew that he was currently playing the role of Raiden Mei's husband.
And Kiana, the virtuous wife and good mother...
Answer—a virtuous wife and good mother, but someone else's.
"...Kiana."
"Mm... What is it...?" Miss Kiana, quite happy, heard him call her name directly and replied vaguely, but her movements, as clinging as a snake, didn't stop, instead intensifying.
"It's me..."
"What...?!" The dazed, slightly hazy Miss Tuna was puzzled by his words, but the moment their eyes met, her mind suddenly cleared—and her heart skipped a beat.
Could it be?!
An illusion! It must be an illusion!
This is a dream, after all!
Terrified by that thought, the white-haired tuna was incredibly nervous, but feeling the progress bar that she had worked so hard on, almost full, she gritted her teeth, comforting herself and seeing her actions through.
Then, as if just hearing him, she asked:
"Uh, what did you say?"
Jiang Qiao was silent for a moment, then sighed and said directly:
"I'm here to take you out."
Kiana blinked.
"...Anyway, put your clothes on first."
As soon as his words fell, with a bang, the girl dashed into the dressing room with lightning speed—a moment later, she emerged with her clothes disheveled... These Japanese-style clothes probably belonged to a certain purple-haired woman.
"Cough, cough... Don't misunderstand..." Tidying her messy hair slightly, Kiana tied her loose hair into a ponytail with a hair tie she held in her mouth. Sitting beside Jiang Qiao, meeting his gaze, she coughed twice, trying to explain.
But clearly, with the white-haired tuna's eloquence, she was quite speechless—moreover, there was no room for argument; she was caught red-handed by the rightful owner.
Seeing her blushing, embarrassed appearance, Jiang Qiao shrugged.
"It's fine. After all... this is a dream, right?"
"So it doesn't matter if we're a bit bolder."
"Right! It's a dream!"
"And I didn't mean to do this..."
"I was just trying to see if I could get out this way!" The white-haired tuna argued.
It sounded incredibly unconvincing—however, from a certain perspective, she seemed to have indeed harbored similar thoughts from the beginning.
For example, using extreme 'emotions' to bring herself closer to reality.
This wasn't an impossible method.
Because the dreamscape Elysia created was a paradise dream—everyone could find their own happiness here. But conversely, the exact opposite of beauty could also become a weakness in this paradise dream.
After all, people instinctively reject terrifying, ugly things, just as people wake up from nightmares.
However, in this paradise dream, turning a beautiful dream into a nightmare was clearly unrealistic.
After all, in a beautiful dream, only beauty and happiness exist.
But—
Kiana did discover an exception.
And that was Jiang Qiao.
Although the beautiful family created by Cecilia Mama and Siegfried brought her immense happiness, and even Mei-senpai was here, the certain Mr. Jiang, who was with Mei instead of her, felt like a natural flaw in this dream.
Calling it love might be a stretch, but after everything, coupled with the deep understanding from 'exchanging bodies,' Kiana did harbor special feelings for him.
And these feelings—with this man named Jiang Qiao not being with her in this dream, but with Mei, whom she liked—inevitably gave rise to... jealousy and unwillingness.
If she could amplify these feelings, she could probably escape this dream, right?
With this thought in mind, Kiana carefully approached Jiang Qiao, who was with Mei, trying to use him to amplify these complex emotions within her.
As for the result—
Undoubtedly, they were amplified...
As for what exactly was amplified...
Setting aside those complex emotions, while betraying her beloved Mei, doing that kind of thing with Mei's husband, she truly felt an indescribable... sense of transgression.
She loved Mei so much, and Mei trusted her so much, yet she secretly did that with the person Mei liked, while Mei was away...
Ah... this brewing emotion within her heart...
Whether she could escape or not, Kiana didn't know, but she was almost drowning in this strange feeling.
Being a gentle wife like Cecilia Mama... yet doing such shameful, forbidden things...
Every time, Kiana felt like she was suffocating.
Wrong, this must be wrong.
Even if it's just Mei in a dream, isn't this too much?
This is 'betrayal'!
But... even while clearly understanding this, she was still deeply mired, unable to extricate herself.
Only wanting to instinctively writhe her waist, savoring this twisted emotion...
It eventually led to this.
And she was even caught red-handed.
Feeling his gaze, thinking about how she might have become a 'shameless' girl in his eyes, the temperature on Kiana's face rapidly rose... yet her heart felt a strange itch.
She feigned composure, maintaining her virtuous wife and good mother facade as she listened to his explanation of his purpose here.
Initially, she felt a bit of regret about returning to reality, but...
"Will you stay in this dream?"
"Yes, until I finish what I need to do."
"What is it?"
"I see..." The girl replied absently, nodding.
Like a cat's paw, the itchy feeling in her heart made her gaze wander restlessly over him.
Come to think of it, in a dream, it doesn't matter what you do...
...In that case...
Then... as part of her dream too, even if she made a move on him, it shouldn't matter, right?
—The suppressed emotions in her heart, not fully released, even intensified by his arrival in a way, urged her to slowly approach him.